Northern State University
Aberdeen, South Dakota · Public
All 11 assessed programs leave graduates out-earning a typical South Dakota high-school graduate (about $36,976/yr). Another 59 could not be assessed.
What would this cost you?
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $10,762 |
| $30k to $48k | $12,087 |
| $48k to $75k | $15,293 |
| $75k to $110k | $18,372 |
| $110k and up | $17,933 |
| All families (average) | $15,812 |
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, by family income (College Scorecard). It reflects students who received federal aid.
Program earnings vs a high-school graduate
Earnings are measured four years after completion when available. Where four-year earnings are suppressed, one-year earnings are shown and marked 1-year earnings. One-year and four-year figures reflect different career stages and should not be compared as if measured at the same time.
11 of 70 programs could be assessed 16% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Years to repay | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher Education (by level) | Bachelor's Degree | $44,147 | +$7,171 | clears the bar | $20,500 | 2.9 yrs | 34 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $70,545 | +$33,569 | clears the bar | $21,862 | 0.7 yrs | 26 |
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $56,571 | +$19,595 | clears the bar | $23,000 | 1.2 yrs | 26 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Bachelor's Degree | $53,484 | +$16,508 | clears the bar | $24,150 | 1.5 yrs | 20 |
| Accounting | Bachelor's Degree | $67,072 | +$30,096 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 0.8 yrs | 20 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $45,921 | +$8,945 | clears the bar | insufficient data | insufficient data | 17 |
| Finance | Bachelor's Degree | $48,324 | +$11,348 | clears the bar | insufficient data | insufficient data | 17 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Master's Degree | $40,724 1-year earnings | +$3,748 | clears the bar | insufficient data | insufficient data | 13 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $50,765 | +$13,789 | clears the bar | insufficient data | insufficient data | 11 |
| Curriculum and Instruction | Master's Degree | $49,669 | +$12,693 | clears the bar | insufficient data | insufficient data | 8 |
| Marketing | Bachelor's Degree | $45,891 1-year earnings | +$8,915 | clears the bar | $23,250 | 2.6 yrs | 8 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 26 |
| Special Education | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 18 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 15 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 15 |
| Educational Administration | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 11 |
| Biology | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 11 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 10 |
| Criminal Justice | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 9 |
| Biotechnology | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 7 |
| IT Administration and Management | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 6 |
| Applied Mathematics | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 6 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 6 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 6 |
| School Counseling | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 5 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 5 |
| Finance | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 5 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 5 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 4 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 4 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 3 |
| Design | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 3 |
| Business Administration | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 3 |
| International Business | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 3 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 2 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 2 |
| Special Education | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Biotechnology | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Geography and Cartography | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Music | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Finance | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 1 |
| Area Studies | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Area Studies | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Computer and Information Science | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Educational Administration | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Mathematics | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Mathematics | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| International/Globalization Studies | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Criminal Justice | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Criminal Justice | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Political Science | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Design | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Medical Laboratory Science | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Finance | Graduate/Professional Certificate | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| History | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | 0 |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data |
| Gerontology | Associate's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data |
| Mental Health and Counseling Services | Master's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data |
| Management Information Systems | Bachelor's Degree | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data | insufficient data |
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians measured four years after completion where available (programs shown with a 1-year figure are marked), compared with the state high-school-graduate benchmark ($36,976/yr). Debt is federal loans only. Suppressed values are shown as insufficient data, never imputed. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise.